Heel and shank lock for shoes



Oct. 21, 1952 F. BRANDT HEEL AND SHANK LOCK F'OR SHOES Filed April 1'7, 1950 INVENTORk FRANCIS L, BRANDT BY I ATTORN EYS Patented Oct. 21, 1952 HEEL AND SHANK LOOK FOR SHOES I Francis Low Brandt, Glen Rock, N. J assignor of one-half to Wilfred C. Hand, Mountainside,

Application April 17, 1950, Serial No. 156,458

2 Claims. 1

This invention relates to improvements in the construction of ladies shoes andis adapted for use in repairing old shoes as well as-in the manufacture of new shoes.

An object of this invention is to provide a simple but effective structure for strengthening ladies shoe construction at various points in the shank as well as for holding the heel in place.

An important object of this invention is the provision of a novel form of combination involving the use of a clamp to prevent the separation of the shank layers caused by the presence of a steel reinforcing shank as commonly used be tween the outsole and the insole.

Another important object of this invention is to provide a similar device for preventing the separation of the heel of a ladys shoe from the supporting structure.

Another important object of the invention is the provision of a combination involving a locking staple which serves the double function of preventing the breakdown of the shank of a ladys shoe incident to the use of a steel reinforcing shank and for preventing the separation of the heel from the shoe structure.

A more specific object of the invention is the provision of a clamping staple in combination with the parts of a ladys shoe effective in use.

both for new shoes and for the repair of worn shoes.

Other and more detailed objects of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the embodiments thereof illustrated in the attached drawings as exemplary of the principles of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is a form of locking clamp for holding the shank parts together and the whole in place;

Figure 2 is a bottom plan view of the structure of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of this form of locking clamp;

Figure 4 is an elevational view partly in section showing a form of locking clamp constructed to aid in holding the heel on the shoe;

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line H-ll of Figure 4; and

Figure 6 is a perspective View of the clamping and locking device shown in Figures 4 and 5.

It is common practice in the construction of ladies shoes to reinforce the entire shoe structure and particularly the shank of the shoe by embedding between the insole and the outsole a spring steel shank stiffener which stiffens the shoe shank. As will be recognized, the outsole and the insole being of leather or some other 2 soft pliable material, diii'iculty is very frequently encountered in holding these pieces of inherently different material in proper relationship. This is especially true after the shoe is worn for a while due to repeated flexing of the shoe parts and particularly the shank'incident to walking; The softer layers of the outsole and insole tend to separate from the spring steel reinforcing shank, causing the whole shank to break down.

This diiiiculty has been recognized and previous efiorts have been made to overcome it. It has been suggested to the manufacturer of ladies shoes that the steel reinforcing shank be provided with apertures along its length through which rivets pass to clamp the outsole andinsole to the opposite sides of the strip. The difiiculty with this solution is that the hard spring steel reinforcing shank becomes greatly weakened at the apertures and commonly snaps oiI thereat. Another disadvantage of this construction is that it is not adapted for repair because of the difficulty of perforating the hardened spring steel reinforcing shank stiffener. The result is that for all practical purposes this type of solution is ineffective.

Ladies shoes are likewise notoriously weak at the heel. The modern shoe with its thin light shank and light bodied upper provides a very poor foundation to which the heel can be effectively attached. This is particularly true of the Continental heel which is relatively long. In use the heel tends to break away from the relatively flexible light bodied shank and once the ocmented joint which is commonly used breaks down it is practically impossible to firmly reattach the heel to the shoe body.

In accordance with this invention all of these defects are avoided and in the case of new shoes the diificulties noted above are avoided. In the case of old shoes effective repairs can be made which result in a shoe which is even stronger than when it was new.

Figures 1, 2 and 3 illustrate a form of clamping or looking staple which is particularly useful at the point of reinforcement adjacent the heel. In this case the U-shaped staple 9 has a lateral wing 9' positioned to extend still further over the lip l of the heel, giving a greater reinforcing action.

The structure shown in Figures 4, 5 and 6 is particularly useful on shoes having a Cuban heel. The shank structure is similar to that previously described, but in this case a type of upper is shown which is commonly used with this type of heel. In this case the locking clamp I2 is basically like that previously described, but has a lateral angle extension l3 arranged to lie along the inside face of the heel II. The U-shaped portion pierces the shank as before and is clinched around the reinforcing strip 3, as in the other structure described above. The angled wing I3 is attached to the adjacent face of the heel by any suitable fastening device such as the tacks [3.

Both forms of the structure herein illustrated are not only well adapted for use in new shoe construction, but are equally adapted to worn shoes. Since in each instance the clamping staple lies around the reinforcing strip there is no difiiculty in applying it to worn shoes. The reinforcement of th shank even after the parts have tended to separate in use, produces a structure which is even stronger than the original shoe.

Likewise in the case of heels that have been loosened byapplicationof the staple to the points indicated in Figures 1 and 4, they are firmly reattached.

It is clear, of course, that the staple may be attached to the shank at some point intermediate the two extreme positions illustrated in Figures 1 and 6, and may be employed in shoe repair as well as in new shoe construction.

The foregoing description when taken in connection with the attached drawings clearly illustrates the principles of this invention, and the further fact that the details of the strucures by means of which these principles are practiced are capable of variations in details. As those tion to embrace the shank stiffener.

skilled in 'the art will readily appreciate these variations, it is my desire that vI not be limited 2. The combination in accordance with claim 1 in which the rearwardly extending wing portion engages the .heel breast and fasteners securing said wing portion to the heel breast.

FRANCIS LOW BRANDT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 917,841 Block Apr. 13, 1909 1,502,716 Daly July 29, 1924 1,508,208 Achart Sept. 9, 1924 1,834,930 Bartels Dec. 8, 1931 2,476,806 Brandt July 19, .1949 2,54%,048 'Sabo Mar. 6, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 6,824 Great Britain Apr. 21, 1892 of 1891 

